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Ice Age: The Meltdown
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation


8.5

based on 29 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 81 votes
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Rate this movie

FILM:

Ice Age

GAMES:

Ice Age 2: The Meltdown

MPAA RATING: PG for some mild language and innuendo

Starring Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, Seann William Scott, Josh Peck, Queen Latifah, Will Arnett, and Jay Leno

Manny, Sid and Diego return in another incredible adventure. The Ice Age is coming to an end, and the animals are delighting in their new world: a melting paradise of water parks, geysers and tar pits. But when Manny, Sid and Diego discover that the miles of melted ice will flood their valley, they must warn everyone and somehow figure out a way to escape the coming deluge. (20th Century Fox)

GENRE(S):	Animation \| Comedy \| Family/Kids
WRITTEN BY:	Jon Vitti
DIRECTED BY:	Carlos Saldanha
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: November 21, 2006 Theatrical: March 31, 2006
RUNNING TIME:	90 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

Also known as "Ice Age 2"

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

Ice Age: The Meltdown blithely looks on the bright side of life, amassing a screen full of vultures to sing and dance ''Food Glorious Food'' and daring us not to get happy.

Christian Science Monitor Peter Rainer

So many movies these days are being linked, often quite tenuously, to current politics. Let this new film be no exception. I am happy to say that Ice Age: The Meltdown points up for toddlers the dangers of global warming.

USA Today Claudia Puig

Should warm viewers' hearts globally.

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

The mediocre original, hampered by a saccharine plot and unconvincing reversals of character, earned lots of money but few plaudits. Now comes Ice Age: The Meltdown, a sequel with more humor, topicality, intelligence and appeal.

Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington

This "Ice Age" is still a good movie (especially for kids) with top-of-the-tech CGI.

Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey

While it lacks the heart and hipness of the similar-themed Pixar odysseys, The Meltdown has the physical humor of slapstick comedy.

New York Daily News Jami Bernard

A good-natured, gag-filled sequel.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

The rare sequel that is better than the original.

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

The series' breakout star remains Scrat (Chris Wedge), a scrawny, speechless rat-squirrel thing trapped in a Sisyphean quest for acorns, and while kids' movies generally could do with fewer scatological gags (the target audience for poo and pee humor needs no encouragement), writers Peter Gaulke and Jim Hecht managed to come up with a (relatively) sophisticated one.

LA Weekly Ella Taylor

The movie still retains the goofy charm, stylish visuals and attention to character of its fine 2002 predecessor. Queen Latifah is a warm and plummy new presence as a voluptuous lady mammoth whose only drawback is that she was raised by possums and thinks she's one herself.

The Hollywood Reporter Luke Sader

Raucously fun, fluid follow-up with ecological message.

Miami Herald Peter Debruge

Features the lamest story of any CG-animated feature to date.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

This is a lackluster film that exists exclusively because its predecessor made money.

Premiere Jessica Letkemann

The sweet, furry animals are witty and often funny, and while the physical comedy is simple, the main characters ultimately aren't.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

The movie is nice to look at, the colors and details are elegant, the animals engaging, the action fast-moving, but I don't think older viewers will like it as much as the kids.

Empire Caroline Westbrook

It's charming enough.

Variety Todd McCarthy

A tad crasser and pushier than its predecessor, Ice Age: The Meltdown is still an entirely serviceable follow-up to the 2002 hit that will thoroughly amuse kids and get a rise or two out of parents as well.

Film Threat Pete Vonder Haar

If you're over the age of 11, there's obviously not much reason to see this.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Tasha Robinson

It's more like watching a typical animated-shorts collection - a few highlights, a lot of clinkers - than like watching an actual movie.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker

Not as cool as the first.

The New York Times Jeannette Catsoulis

The animation is uninspired (with so much ice, the creatures need to be twice as good-looking), and the story is humdrum. (The saber-toothed tiger learns to swim!)

Washington Post Stephen Hunter

The animation is first-rate...But the story needs to catch up to the magic. Otherwise, what's the point?

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

The film is enjoyable enough, at least for young children.

Chicago Reader Andrea Gronvall

Improved CGI renders the animals' bodies in greater detail, but the laughs aren't as sharp.

San Francisco Chronicle Peter Hartlaub

Less a story than a series of complicated slapstick bits.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Jennie Punter

Essentially a journey from point A to point B, a simple classic plotline on which to hang a collection of set pieces -- some delightful, some wacky, some tediously hackneyed.

Boston Globe Ty Burr

Ice Age: The Meltdown is pure sequel product that should make children and undemanding grown-ups happy even as it lacks anything resembling storytelling inspiration.

Village Voice Jim Ridley

A romantic subplot about a possum-raised mammoth (Queen Latifah!) tries to put the warm in global warming, but the unappealing character designs, incessant celebrity-voice chatter, and slickly inexpressive 3-D animation thwart any emotional pull.

Austin Chronicle Kimberley Jones

Much of the original film's geniality – and all of its pro-environment stumping – has gone missing; what we have instead is a watered-down likeness that curiously turns disaster flick in its too-scary third act.

The average user rating for this movie is 8.5 (out of 10) based on 81 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

[Anonymous] gave it a4:
This movie missed the charm that the first film had.

Bendik gave it a3:
I loved the first Ice Age movie, but this is not good. There is one thing they forgot that ruined the whole movie: A MOVIE WITHOUT A PLOT IS USUALLY NOT ANY GOOD.

Brandon S gave it an8:
I prefer the original, but only slightly. This was an excellent continuation of the original story, and the new themes were interesting and current. Some professional reviews mention a lack of emotional pull. On the contrary, I laughed and, a couple times, I teared up a little bit from the heartwarming moments. A very good movie, recommended for all ages.

Keri S gave it a10:
first of all, i would like to start with that i aggree with Bubble M. it is as good as the first one. Amurabi M. was wrong. my dad loved the movie, and just laughed! Ice Age the meltdown is a great movie. all the characters are back, Sid is still my favorite, and the plot was just great. i thought the movie was very suspenseful, because i was scared to death that somebody would die. it's a movie that you can just lol at, and just cry all the time at, because it's very emotional. this movie was said to be for kids, but i say it's more for big kids and adults. little kids don't understand the jokes, the humor, and don't understand how much danger the characters are in, except that they know that something bad is happening. but this is just one of the best movies of all time. it's one of those sequels that doesn't fail. the only negative thing that i found, was that a could of the characters had 10% of something that made them different. but they still look great. i guess it's something that the characters get a new look, and they look better. anyways, don't doubt until you see the movie. i only know that some people hated it, because of the stuff that was in it, that wasn't necessary. doesn't matter. it was Great!

B M gave it an8:
Superb animation, great characters, and just darn funny! If you loved the original you will love this. And to those who have moaned about the story and plot, come on! This isn't 'The Godfather Part II'. It's a movie for kids and the kid in all of us. Just forget your problems for 90 minutes and let yourself laugh like a kid again.

Ryan J. gave it a9:
i must say i watched this film on the plane to cyprus and before it started had no hope for it i thought what hope have i got for this, but i was so wrong, the plot was brilliant, still hilarious and still ahd the sad-happy storyline and of course finished off with another brilliant ending, i was very pleased to see that the new characters fitted into the movie well and were not boring but equally as interesting, good movie overall.

Alex gave it an8:
i think i'm dreaming. Ice Age 2 is one of those rarities. you know the ones that i'm talking about. the sequels that are almost, if not just as good as the original. yes, believe it or not, Ice Age 2 was almost as good as its predecessor. the humor balanced between child-friendly and keeping the older age groups entertained quite nicely, and thankfully there weren't too many re-used jokes, as seems to be the recent trend with comedy sequels these days. the two alligator-things that appeared periodically throughout the movie were kinda pointless, and really just felt like filler to keep the action moving. perhaps the best part about the movie were the scrat sequences. simply hilarious. Ellie, Crash, and Eddie were nice additions to the cast, but sometimes became a little annoying. overall, 8.5 out of 10.

Ice Age: The Meltdown Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Ice Age: The Meltdown
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation